I'm baaaaaaack!

Happy Saturday!

I am so happy to be back on my blog! I've been gone for quite some time. Let me catch you up on my latest adventures in the creative world. I had two major workshops to prepare for in my "real" world as a Teaching Artist.  I taught them in Elizabeth City, NC. The focus was incorporating performing arts in the Pre-school classroom.  So, I had about 25 Pre-school teachers dancing around and acting like butterflies, snakes and raccoon. We had a blast and I believe they have some great tools to take back to the classroom that will help children become great writers, storytellers and just all around imaginative people who will be able to meet any challenge "head one" and with a fresh perspective.

So, in my scrapbook life, I had the awesome pleasure of taking the Art of Observation class with Heidi Swapp over at Big Picture Classes. Let me tell  you, this class was AMAZING! I learned so much from  that little creative ball of fire! She is so sweet and I even won a big bundle prize for posting my work in the classroom gallery. I met so many creative ladies from all over the world (online)  and have a ton of Memory Files that I just love. I wanted to share some of my work with you.

This  was the first Memory File I created called "Beautiful" I documented a beautiful and much need Spring Break that our family took to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The second Memory File I made was called "Legacy" based on one of my favorite songs by Nichole Nordeman. I love how Heidi guided the class through adding layers and pictures in the files.

and this little secret hiding place was just perfect for one of my favorite pics of me and the boys.

This next Memory File is called "Amazed" where I documented all the "techie" things and ordinary life things that amaze me and make life so sweet. This one used form core as an insert between file layers. It was a bit tricky to complete, but totally worth the effort.

Now this Memory file is one of my favorites because I made it completely from an ordinary file folder and covered it with papers that give this Memory File a cultural holiday feel. This file is all about Kwanzaa, one of our family's special celebrations.

Kwanzaa is an African American celebration of culture, family and community. I was able to get about 40 pics in this Memory File. My favorite is the one of the Elder Ladies drumming....Beautiful.

This Memory File was called "Love Languages" and is all about how I show love. This one could go on forever, but I love this heart mini book that documents everything from words of encouragement to cooking healthy meals for those I love.

There was another secret side pocket where I tucked in some photo tags. I love those guys. My "Sons of Thunder". I believe God is going to use these guys to reach the world for Jesus.

This Memory File is called "Life Lessons" and it's all about celebrating the lessons I've learned and the people who helped me learn them. I absolutely love this black, red and white color scheme. I don't think I ever would have used these colors if it wasn't for Heidi. I usually go with extra bright colors. Thanks, Heidi!

This class was actually very introspective and even Spiritual for me. I had lots of time to think about what I believe, what kind of legacy I want to leave my children and my plans for a great future. I have one more file to share, but it's a MAJOR one so I'll save it for next time. Hopefully it won't take me so long to get back here, next time. I just have a lot of creative work on my plate.

Thanks so much for stopping by! See you next time!

20 Things I Love About Him

Happy Valentine's Day

and

Thanks for stopping by...

So, it's LOVER'S DAY all around the country and I wonder if you've told that special someone that you love them? You know we shouldn't wait until a designated day to show our affection and to say "I appreciate you", but I just love Valentine's Day. I love the cards and flowers and date night and of course....THE CHOCOLATE!

Isayah and I enjoyed a fantastic lunch at a little Indian restaurant called Passport to India, here in Charlotte, while the boys were in school. The food was absolutely delish and the price was awesome too. My favorite parts of the lunch were the okra, tomato and onion stew, the Naan and the Masala Tea. I'm going to try and make that tea at home. It was too good to only have once!

I wanted to remind my loving, sweet husband how much I love him so I made a mini-scrapbook for him called "20 Things I Love About You". It took some doing to surprise him, because he is quite the nosey one. But when I finally revealed it, he said it was THE BEST VALENTINE'S DAY card he every received!! Wow! That says a lot (even though, technically, it's not a card...it's a mini-scrapbook...but that's a guy for ya...)

I wanted to share my mini scrapbook that I made for my DH. This is going to be a bit photo heavy so bear with me. I just think it turned out super cute.

I made this mini-book from cardboard cereal boxes...can you believe?? I'm being all "recycl-ish"

It wasn't hard coming up with 20 things...I love sooo many things about my husband and I thank God for allowing me to be a part of his life.

One of the things I really adore about Isayah is the fact that he is so romantic and so funny. I am a relatively serious person. He really balances me out and helps me not take life so seriously all the time.

I found these cute little kissy lips at Big Lots, of all places. I couldn't wait to use them on this scrapbook. Mmwah!

I think one of the things that really got my husband's attention about this mini-book was the fact that I used so many random pictures of him. I really don't like lots of posed pics. I like actions shots of our life...unscripted. The pic above on the right is of my DH working on the family mini-van. He really can fix just about ANYTHING.

I was able to complete this mini-book, just using my stash. I'll admit, I have quite a large stash, but I didn't go out to the scrapbook shop AT ALL to complete this book. I think that might be a record for me. I feel kinda proud of myself for that. (hold the applause)

I found this green speech bubble paper in one of my many paper packs. I was able to write all the things I wanted to remind him of like "I've got his back" and "You've got my support". Sometimes hubbies just need to be reminded.

Oh, I should probably tell you where I got the idea for this mini-book. It came from Heidi Swapp's website. I love how she included the pop-up type heart pages inside. It gave me lots of room to documents all the ways I love my man.

I love this "sealed with a kiss" envelope embellishment....so cute!

Overall, I thought this mini-book was a great way to show my everlasting love for the most important man in my life. He is so amazing and I didn't want another day to go by without me telling him so. Don't forget to tell that special someone in your life, how much they mean to you. It doesn't matter if it's Valentine's Day or not. Just say the words they want to hear. You'll both feel better.

See you next time...